7 Novels to Whisk You Far Away

Plus 1 tasty fictional vacation closer to home

Written by Random House

After you’re out of college, “spring break” may not automatically mean “beach vacation,” but these books will make you feel like you’ve journeyed to an exotic destination, without leaving the comforts of home. And there’s something for everyone: mystery, romance, spiritual awakening, history, even the ghosts of war.

The Greek island of Ikonos, where Sophie Kinsella’s heroine finds herself on a luxurious impromptu honeymoon, may be fictional, but the hilarity that follows is all too real. And the descriptions of the beautiful island will make you wish you too could visit the 5-star Amba Hotel.

The island of Manhattan may not have white sand beaches and tropical foliage, but Ruth Reichl’s Delicious! will still make you want to head straight there for a mouth-watering meal and a wander through the West Village.

Romance, royalty, the ghosts of Nantucket past, and the charm of Nantucket present combine in Jude Deveraux’s Nantucket Brides trilogy. If you love For All Time, check out True Love, the series opener, and Ever After, coming this summer.

If you like your fictional journeys with a little international intrigue, go for the first book in Jeff Soloway’s Travel Writer Mystery series, set at a South American resort in the jungles of the Andes.

07

Travel in time and space with The Lost Sisterhood, which mixes ancient Greek pirates, the Trojan War, and the legendary Amazons with a modern woman’s quest for treasure that takes her from England to North Africa to Greece to the ruins of ancient Troy.

Mingling the supernatural and the mundane, and the immigrant experience with the lives of those who stayed behind, The Frangipani Hotel beautifully evokes Vietnam’s history, culture, and its legacy of war.

Random House

Founded in 1925, Random House is the proud publishing house of the world’s most acclaimed storytellers, thought leaders, and innovators. Our host of imprints—including Ballantine Bantam Dell, Del Rey/Spectra, The Dial Press, LucasBooks, The Modern Library, Random House, and Spiegel & Grau—publish original fiction and nonfiction in all formats with the mission to entertain, educate and inspire readers for generations.